Narrator

The first person narrator is arguably the main character of the novel. She remains unnamed throughout the entirety of the narrative. In the narrative present, the narrator lives alone in an undisclosed city in England. Shortly after her grandmother’s funeral, she discovers that she is pregnant. While in Aberdeen, Scotland for the funeral, the narrator met a young man with whom she connected. She was particularly moved by the way he talked about death and the funeral rituals. After the service, she and the man met up and drank together. Later, they had sex. At first, the encounter felt meaningless and void of emotion. Then the act became increasingly intimate and urgent. When she left, the narrator neither gave the man her number nor asked for his.

Discovering that she is pregnant upsets the narrator’s world. She had always imagined the experience happening differently. She imagined...